Chapter 46: A Familiar Scent

Chapter 46: Chapter 46: A Familiar Scent

Once Bai Wanwan was safe, the Silver Wolf shot forward on powerful legs, lunging at the tiger.

He didn’t expect to land a decisive bite, but only hoped to scare his opponent away with a fierce assault.

As his jaws snapped on empty air, the tiger seemed to find its opening. In a flash, it lunged for the Silver Wolf’s neck.

But just then, the Silver Wolf’s beast form suddenly swelled to several times its size, growing even larger than the tiger.

Bai Wanwan watched the scene unfold like something from a sci-fi movie, so stunned she forgot to be afraid.

’So this is the power of a male Beastman’s Talent! It’s incredible!’

The two beasts swiftly dodged and attacked. Bai Wanwan’s naked eye could no longer follow their movements, only catching blurred afterimages.

Bai Wanwan clutched the basket of cubs to her chest, ready to dodge at a moment’s notice.

The tiger tried to charge in her direction several times, but the Silver Wolf sent it flying back with each attempt.

After countless exchanges, the tiger was sent crashing into the forest, toppling a swath of trees and sending up a shower of snow.

It rolled several times before swaying back to its feet. Its wide tiger eyes glared at the Silver Wolf, then at the small female behind him, its gaze filled with resentment.

It retreated cautiously, testing the perimeter for a short while before finally yielding to the Silver Wolf’s intimidating presence and slowly departing.

Once he was certain there was no more danger, Xin Feng quickly shifted back to his human form and pulled Bai Wanwan into his arms.

"Were you scared?"

She had been terrified at first. After all, it was her first time facing a wild beast. It could have torn her in two with a single bite; how could she not be afraid?

But Xin Feng had protected her so well. When she saw the tiger couldn’t get near, she had started to relax.

"No, you’re so amazing!"

Her praise came from the heart. In his beast form, the Silver Wolf had been a formidable, imposing figure, radiating a deadly aura.

’I’m so glad I used those Points to heal him,’ she thought, relieved. ’Otherwise, even if I hadn’t fallen into the hands of a Wandering Beast, I would have been eaten by that tiger.’

The young female’s praise brought a smile to Xin Feng’s eyes.

He glanced around. "Get on. We need to find a place to rest for the night."

Bai Wanwan, clutching the cubs, climbed onto his back again.

Night was falling, and the air grew colder.

"Xin Feng, look, is that a cave?"

On the snow-covered cliff face, near the ground, was a dark opening. The entrance was small, only about half a person tall.

Xin Feng immediately carried her over to it.

"Wanwan, wait here. I’m going inside for a look. I’ll be right back."

"Okay." Bai Wanwan hugged the cubs and pressed herself against the cliff face.

The woods were already dim, with the white snow on the ground reflecting a faint light.

She watched her surroundings warily. Xin Feng soon reappeared by her side.

"Wanwan, it’s safe inside, but the cave is cramped. We’ll have to make do for the night."

"Okay."

Bai Wanwan was nearly numb from the cold. She took Xin Feng’s hand and crawled into the cave.

Not only was the entrance small, but the inside wasn’t much larger. They had to walk hunched over.

It was only about two or three meters deep.

’The conditions aren’t great, but we’ll have to manage.’

AWOO... AWOO...

The cubs had been crying in the basket for a while. The situation had been too urgent to comfort them.

She quickly set the basket on the ground, lifted the fur hide covering it, and reached in to pick them up.

The cubs must have been frightened too; they were trembling and crying nonstop...

Bai Wanwan picked them up one by one, giving them kisses and cuddles.

The little ones’ trembling bodies slowly calmed.

After cuddling the third cub, she reached in for the next one, but her hand found only empty space.

Puzzled, she felt around inside again. As if realizing something, she suddenly ripped the hide completely off the basket.

In the faint light, the bamboo basket was completely empty. There was no fourth cub.

She shot to her feet and counted the cubs at her side.

One, two, three...

"Xin Feng, quick, check behind you! Is the tiger cub there?"

Xin Feng had been watching the cave entrance and didn’t know what was happening.

Hearing her, he turned and came inside. "Wanwan, what’s wrong?"

Bai Wanwan was frantic. "Quick, look around! Are there any hiding places in here? The tiger cub is missing!"

Xin Feng’s expression changed drastically at her words, and he immediately began searching the cave.

But the cave was tiny. The two of them practically tore the place apart, but they couldn’t find the last tiger cub.

Bai Wanwan grabbed Xin Feng’s arm, her voice strained. "It must have been when I was holding on to you so tightly. I didn’t secure the basket properly. The tiger cub must have fallen out."

When she first gave birth to these beast-form cubs, she’d had trouble adapting, unable to truly feel like a mother.

But after caring for them all this time, she had come to see each cub as her precious baby.

’She couldn’t bear to lose a single one.’

Xin Feng pulled her into a hug, trying to soothe her. "Don’t be afraid! I’ll find a rock to block the entrance, then I’ll go look for the tiger cub. You hide in here and don’t come out, no matter what."

"Okay, then hurry!"

’I know I can’t go,’ she thought. ’I’d only be a burden. The best thing I can do is stay hidden with the other cubs and not hold Xin Feng back.’

’The cubs are too small. They wouldn’t even be a mouthful for a predator.’

Xin Feng didn’t dare to delay. After quickly finding a stone to block the cave entrance, he sprinted back the way they had come.

He hadn’t dared to show how worried he was, for fear of frightening Wanwan further.

But so much time had passed. A cub, all alone outside, with no Father Beast to protect it...

He didn’t dare to dwell on it. He could only run faster.

After the entire Cat Clan Tribe was massacred, the Wandering Beastmen began searching everywhere for the Holy Female, Bai Wanwan.

Chou Rong had been out gathering information. The moment he stepped into the tribe, he sensed something was wrong. The thick stench of blood hung in the air.

His sharp brows furrowed, and he immediately shifted into his beast form.

The Cat Clan Tribe was in ruins, a scene of total destruction. Blood was spattered across the ground and walls.

He tried to find the perpetrators or any survivors, but after circling the area twice, he hadn’t found a single living Beastman.

An image of Bai Wanwan’s face flashed through his mind. On instinct, he turned and headed toward the back of the mountain.

Everywhere he looked, the open snow was littered with the mangled limbs of Beastmen.

The corners of his mouth turned down, his lips pressed into a tight line. He already had a good guess as to what happened.

’The Cat Clan Tribe was attacked by Wandering Beasts.’

Soon, he arrived at the entrance to Bai Wanwan’s cave home. The door stood open, and there was no sound from within.

He shifted into his human form and walked inside. The cave was empty, looking as if no one had ever lived there.

There were no signs of a struggle. Instead, it looked as if everything had been packed up and moved out.

He felt an inexplicable sense of relief. Just as he turned to leave, he caught a scent.

He stopped in his tracks, sniffing the air again, trying to identify it.

Then, his expression hardened.

’Why does the scent in Bai Wanwan’s cave smell so similar to my own?’

He paced back and forth inside the cave.

The scent seemed to permeate every corner of the cave.

’A suspicion began to form in his mind.’

Stepping out of the cave, he saw messy tracks in the snow. After carefully identifying the paw prints of a Silver Wolf, he began to follow them.

The snow continued to fall, and the tracks in the snow grew fainter and fainter.

’I have to move faster. If the tracks disappear, I’ll have no easy way of finding them.’

He ran out of the Cat Clan’s territory, following the tracks toward the mountainside. But after a while, the tracks simply vanished.

’Xin Feng must have deliberately concealed them.’

’Damn it!’

Mmm... mmm...

Just as Chou Rong was about to press on from where the tracks had vanished, he heard a faint sound.

He stopped and turned his head to the side.

There in the snow, a snow-white cub was stirring, its fur almost indistinguishable from the drifts around it.

It was nearly invisible at a glance.

The cub’s cries grew fainter and fainter.

Chou Rong changed direction, moving toward it one step at a time.